Cam Newton was right not to trade NFL MVP award for hypothetical Super Bowl ring

Let me preface this by saying I am and have been a diehard Carolina Panthers fan for my entire life. Super Bowl 50 is one of the worst periods I can recall, right up there with North Carolina's 2016 National Championship loss. I'd trade a lot to have that outcome reversed.
It would have cemented them as an all-time great team, and it might've cemented Cam Newton as a Hall of Famer. For my money, he should probably be one anyway, but that's another story. Newton today said that he wouldn't hypothetically swap his MVP award for a Super Bowl ring. As much as it pains me for my team to never have won one, he's right.
Cam Newton's MVP choice is the right one
Stephen A. Smith: "Cam, if you could give back that league MVP for a Super Bowl championship, would you do it?"
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 30, 2025
Cam Newton: "No." 👀 pic.twitter.com/x9XspwR7kh
Every year, there is a Super Bowl champion. 53 players, not even including those who spent time on the team and got a ring, are crowned alongside their coaches. A Super Bowl ring, while obviously the ultimate team goal of this sport, is not all that rare. There are far fewer MVPs in this sport, especially when considering the fact that some people have multiple.
That's the crux of Newton's argument. He says the MVP meant he did his job, and he certainly did. That 2015 season involved Newton carrying an entire NFL offense to within a game of a title. No offense to Greg Olsen of course, but the offense Newton was working with was not good. That was exposed in the Super Bowl.
Trent Dilfer has a Super Bowl ring but no MVP. Nick Foles does, too. Newton referrenced them, and it's a fair point. Who matters more to the story of the NFL, Newton or Dilfer? Would any player in their right mind say they'd prefer to have Dilfer's career over Newton's? Not likely.
Players with MVPs stand above their peers. Players with Super Bowl rings generally don't. If the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl this year, Rashee Rice will have two rings. Is he a better all-time player than Newton? Not even close. If the Philadelphia Eagles win, does Jalen Hurts automatically have a better career than Newton? I don't think so.
We as sports fans are so ring-obsessed. That is the goal of each sport, but not everyone achieves it. Most don't. An MVP means Newton played the best football out of anyone in a full season. In my mind, it's one of the 10 best QB seasons in history. A Super Bowl ring means that you were on a great team more often than not. What carries more value? The answer to a player is more simple than you'd think.
Newton may come off as selfish. That and his final fumble in that Super Bowl combine to seemingly paint a bad picture, but I know the truth. Newton gave up his body time and again for the Panthers. It probably cost him the last couple of years of his career.
If his MVP is the only thing he can take from that career, it was worth it, so I completely understand his opinion. Even if I'd love to have seen my team win a championship.
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